MAFIA DOESN'T COME BETTER THAN THIS

Firstly, thank you Ava for writing Matteo and Viviana’s thrilling and chilling rocky love story which I devoured in one addicted day.. and thank you for not splitting it up with cliffhangers, wait times and costly trilogies.. although I could’ve lingered a wee while longer in their world.

IMO, this is an absolutely fantastic Mafia romance with a handsome, hardened, sexy alpha King and the sacrificial pawn who upends his world, thaws his heart and will give him the fuel to slay his enemies. The pawn is an evil father’s daughter.. she's caught in a web of lies, blackmail, secrets and manipulation with only one way out.. marry the heartless Devil who is offering her a loveless marriage. And so their rollercoaster begins.. and angst, conflict, animosity, danger, suspense, intrigue, tension-filled life-threatening scenes and bloodshed will follow. But there will be swoons, drools and sighs too as the ice melts around Matteo's heart.. as the chemistry between them ignites lust and defies logic.. as their animosity slowly fades and lowers walls. And the distrust will eventually turn to trust.. revelations and truths will rock their worlds.. and indifference will turn to a deep forever love.. a love that will save a sinner King.

Worth a credit? Oh boy yes.. absolutely one-hundred-percent yes.. it ticked all my boxes as I held my breath, flinched, swooned, sighed, drooled, prayed, gasped and held up a DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING ANYWHERE NEAR ME hand as I cozied up in their ruthless unpredictable world. Great dual POV narration by Sebastian and Vanessa who took a suspenseful well-written well-paced book and took it to a whole other level.. a level where audio perfection is reached.

13 people found this helpful

Excellent Read UNTIL....

I realize this is a dark romance, but the hero/Matteo when he played Russian Roulette with the hero thinking her a traitor after everything they shared, KILLED THIS BOOK FOR ME. He pulled the trigger intending to blow her brains out with no proof! She was bugged how was she supposed to have betrayed him?? Then she forgives him when he professes his love. Really!!!!
The narrators were absolutely fabulous, just wish the book had been as stellar.

7 people found this helpful

A 100% in All Categories of A Awesome Audiobook Book!

This is one book of Ava Harrison‘s that I wish could’ve gone on for more chapters. To say I loved this book would be an understatement! I am a fan of Mafia romance, especially when there’s a forced marriage involved in which the couple learns to love one another. This storyline has been done so many times, but Ava has made it her own. This book was such an adrenaline rush with so many twists and turns that kept me saying, “What the heck!?!” There were times when I literally had go back and listen to a certain part again just to make sure that I heard correctly. The ending was my favorite part. Many times you read a book like this and the ending is just... “epilogue, and they lived happily ever after”. It left me wanting more!

I loved the chemistry between Mateo and Viviana, but I believe that has a lot to do with the performances of Sebastian York and Vanessa Edwin. They were spectacular! They had to voice so many characters and I felt every emotion portrayed whether it was anger, fear, sadness, hatred, and love. It was hard to decipher who were the bad and good guys in the story. Throughout the story, Mateo is always saying that there is a mole in the group, but it’s so difficult to figure out who is the mole.

I will definitely listening to this audiobook again in the future. I have grown to really like Ava‘s audiobooks. She has a talent of choosing the perfect person to voice her characters. Sebastian has the perfect gruff mafia voice. I cannot tell you enough of how much I love this! Listen to this audio book. It is so worth the credit. I promise you that!

3 people found this helpful

Mafia romance with twists and turns and stellar narration.

Ruthless Monarch is a standalone mafia/arranged marriage romance. It is like a great roller coaster: fast paced with tons of twists and turns that have you on the edge of your seat and leaves you breathless at times.

Viviana is our heroine. She is in a difficult position of trying to keep long held secrets that could damage her and those she loves. She agrees to marry Matteo Amante thinking he’s the lesser of two evils. Viviana has been controlled her whole life. First by her father and now by Matteo.

Ruthless Monarch is such a great title and fits Matteo Amante perfectly. He has all the necessary traits of the typical mafia hero: powerful, ruthless, intimidating. But he also has his own moral code.

While Matteo doesn’t give Viviana much choice in becoming his wife, he makes it clear the marriage will not be consummated until she is willing to give herself to him freely. This helps to build the suspense in the story. As they spend more time together, they both feel the force of the attraction they have for each other. Neither of them anticipated this arrangement to lead to very real feelings.

Once their relationship develops into much more than a marriage of convenience, the plot really starts to take off. The stakes are now raised. Can either of them be trusted? Who will betray whom first?

Sebastian York is was perfect as Matteo. You feel his angst as he tries to come terms with his conflicting feelings toward Viviana. Vanessa Edwin is a relatively new for me and she more than held her own as Viviana.

All in all, this was a captivating story. Ava Harrison has written a number of great leading men and Matteo Amante is the top of that very strong list.

2 people found this helpful

Waste of a Credit!

Worst Mafia Story I’ve ever heard. The story was rather ridiculous. No Mob Boss would care that the Government involved man has illegitimate children. That is not a new theme. I listened to the entire story because I wasted my credit on this. I can’t return it because of Audible rules and restrictions. I read 1 persons review and am sadly disappointed!

I loved Sebastian York but Vannesa Edwin her voice is annoying.

Brutal Mafia + crooked politician love story

This is a continuation of the overall narrative about the corrupt men in the tri-state area that one by one have found a measure of peace and redemption through the love of a good woman. This time it is Mafia leader Mateo’s turn when he kidnaps and marries the daughter of a very crooked, evil governor of New Jersey. The plot is fairly simple and obvious but the story is sadly somewhat believable. Several characters from the author’s earlier works put in am appearance though unfortunately not their wives. Too bad because the wedding or a party would have made for a nice scene to catch up. Great narration and worth a credit.

Stolen moments

I truly enjoyed this story. It had a lot of twists and turns and OMG! Moments.
I loved the relationship and passion shared between Matteo and Vivianna, how it started shaky and built to more.
Sebastian York and Vanessa Edwin did a fantastic job of bringing them to life.
I would definitely recommend.

Worth the Credit!

What a great book! There was never any down time in this story! It's action packed and there's definitely sexy times (hot 🔥)! Great narrators, of course! I'd even listen to it again! Really, great book!

Loved it

It was a really good book! Recommend it! I’ve never read a book from this author before, loved it .

Best book ever!

Ruthless Monarch in my opinion is the best book Ava has written to date. It was amazing. Narrators Sebastian and Edwin were the perfect Matteo and Vivianna. The best way to get lost in a AH book is to listen to it. She picks the best narrators that make her stories come to life.